Survey Finds That Employers, Employees Disagree On The Importance Of Professional Soft Skills

Employers are looking for workers with skills in management, critical thinking and communication. (NAPS)

(NAPSI)—With the unemployment rate dropping below 4 percent for the
first time since 20001, higher education could help those looking
to take advantage of record employment.2

According to a national survey by University of Phoenix, only 38 percent
of U.S. working adults felt very satisfied with their current professional
position and 45 percent said that they need a college degree in order to
excel.3 While IT and health care are two of the fastest-growing
occupations, creating a demand for those competencies,4
the survey found that professional soft skills were cited as some of the most
necessary skills for employees to possess.

“The survey found that employers emphasized the need for
professional soft skills,” said Kevin Wilhelmsen,
program dean, University of Phoenix School of Business. “Employers are
looking for employees who are competent in people management (56 percent),
critical thinking (52 percent) and communication (50 percent).”5

Despite employers valuing professional soft skills, the survey found that
most employees felt that those skills had the least impact on their ability
to enhance their career. When asked what skills they found most important,
only 31 percent said people management, 29 percent said strategic thinking
and 22 percent said communication.6

“People looking to enhance their career through education must
determine which program could help them develop or improve professional soft
skills while remaining relevant to their career path,” Wilhelmsen said. “Many of these skills can be found
in the MBA, which often focuses more on practical knowledge rather than
research.”7

Wilhelmsen said that the MBA could help create
well-rounded professionals with the skills for multiple industries. To
further this point, Monster.com published a series of articles explaining how
the MBA has transformed the job market. Monster suggests that there is an
increased demand for MBA candidates because of the critical thinking skills
they possess that bring an analytical approach to improve business processes.8

“To help provide the necessary soft skills, the MBA program must
focus on the competencies that provide a well-rounded, critical thinking
professional, in addition to discipline-specific content such as marketing,
economics or finance,” he said. “If designed to hit these marks,
the MBA can help students build these skills as they progress through
rigorous discipline-specific content and integrative experiences.”

University of Phoenix offers a standard MBA that can be earned in as
little as 18 months. The university also provides options that add
certificates in accounting, marketing, finance and more. Explore options at www.phoenix.edu.

3This survey
was conducted online within the United States by Harris Poll on behalf of
University of Phoenix between November 6 and November 27, 2017 among 2,011
U.S. adults aged 18 and older, who are full-time employed in a company of 10
employees or more. Figures for number of employees were weighted where
necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the
population. Propensity score weighting was also used to adjust for
respondents’ propensity to be online.

5This survey
was conducted online within the United States by Harris Poll on behalf of
University of Phoenix between November 6 and November 27, 2017 among 2,011
U.S. adults aged 18 and older, who are full-time employed in a company of 10
employees or more. Figures for number of employees were weighted where
necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the
population. Propensity score weighting was also used to adjust for
respondents’ propensity to be online.

“According to a University of
Phoenix survey, employers are looking for workers with competency in
management, critical thinking and communication skills. An MBA can help you
develop or improve soft skills while remaining on your career path. http://bit.ly/2JlqYSd”

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